


The Art Of Seduction ( And How To Fail At It )

by Ratmitri



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: And Dorothea is still in BE, Btw probably not the clearest here but its implied Byleth joined Blue Lions, F/F, Lighthearted fluff turns into character study angst turns into romance, M/M, Multi, Still no idea how to tag, Two biggest flirts try to woo strangers and succeed while completely faling at their own love life, also no big spoilers however backstory sotires and future events are alluded to, and also bi solidarity, platonic dorothea and sylvain is great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 13:37:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20658143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ratmitri/pseuds/Ratmitri
Summary: "W-What's so funny? "" Oh, nothing. Just... you act all confident don't you? Something about the resident womanizer, the so called ' flirting master ', practically beggin- "" I-I was not begging! "" As I said, practically begging, for me to stop just because you're scared that... what was it you said? That I'll steal all of your chances with women? C'mon Sylvain, you cannot claim to not see the hilarity in this situation. "He huffed. He hadn't expected to be mocked, ...well no that's a lie, there's always that, but still! He was not scared, just... slightly concerned about his luck, that's all. If Dorothea was so convinced that he was a coward, then he has no choice but to prove her otherwise." I am not scared. In fact, I think you just opened my eyes! Why don't we try a little competition between us? See which one of us is truly better at the art of seduction. You in? "-----------------------------------Alternatively: Two messes make a bet on two can flirt better and end up as matchmaking friends.





	The Art Of Seduction ( And How To Fail At It )

**Author's Note:**

> It's been literally months since three houses has come out and I still can't get it :( The wait's been killing me so I'm writing fanfiction to cope. Apologies if smth is inaccurate or grammatically off, the author is very sleep deprived.

Life was not going Sylvain's way. His new professor, despite not having much experience as a teacher, was harsh. Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised that a former mercenary would think that students would learn the best on a battlefield, and yet the sheer amount of fighting he had to do was... quite tiring.

His sentiment seemed to be shared among the rest of the class, and sometimes he felt like the only thing keeping them from disliking the new professor was the sheer amount of tea and gifts provided to them on almost any occasion, seemingly without any reason. 

Of course, with a schedule as busy as his, he'd want to... unwind a bit. However, the past few days had been filled with nothing but rejection... after rejection. That alone would not be concerning, his reputation DID exceed him, but the reasoning behind his failures this time around definitely was out of ordinary.

Which was how he found himself in front of Dorothea's dorm room, knocking like a madman for the past few minutes.

" ... Sylvain? Why are you standing in front of my room? "

Maybe he should have realized Dorothea wasn't inside after the first few knocks, but at least she ended up coming back to her dorm relatively early. She also looked very mad ( he's sure her door seeming less sturdy then before has absolutely nothing to with that ).

" Ah, Dorothea, lovely as always, just the woman I was looking for! "

He flashed her a smile, hoping make her less angry, because, frankly, it was a bit too early for that, it usually takes him slightly longer to mess up. 

" Sylvain. You either explain why you're here right now, or... " Her voice dropped as she crossed her arms, staring at him straight in the eyes. " I test out the new spell professor has taught me. In fact, I had been searching for somewhere to practice. "

" ... Alright, you got me. I've been flirting, as per usual, ya know, being my usual charming, handsome self, but for some reason, all the girls I've been talking to lately can't seem to think of anything other then you! " Sylvain threw his arms up, trying to emphasize just how much of a travesty this truly was. " All that I've been hearing about is about how wonderful the Black Eagles songstress is, how beautiful and charming, and how lovely her voice is! All true, of course, and yet, Dorothea, I beg you, please stop stealing all of the chances I have with women. "

He expected some sort of reaction from her, of course, but a laugh was not what Sylvain had been anticipated. In fact, it threw him off a bit, confused as to what she found so amusing. 

"W-What's so funny? "

" Oh, nothing. Just... you act all confident don't you? Something about the resident womanizer, the so called ' flirting master ', practically beggin- "

" I-I was not begging! "

" As I said, practically begging, for me to stop just because you're scared that... what was it you said? That I'll steal all of your chances with women? C'mon Sylvain, you cannot claim to not see the hilarity in this situation. "

He huffed. He hadn't expected to be mocked, ...well no that's a lie, there's always that, but still! He was not scared, just... slightly concerned about his luck, that's all. If Dorothea was so convinced that he was a coward, then he has no choice but to prove her otherwise.

" I am not scared. In fact, I think you just opened my eyes! Why don't we try a little competition between us? See which one of us is truly better at the art of seduction. You in? " 

" Seeing that you called it the ' art of seduction ', I think I already have an advantage. I'll bite though. Let's see... how about, whichever one of us is more successful by the end of the week, wins. And as for the prize, if you win, I'll cover in for you whenever you sneak out, and if I do, you can help me out with my chores. "

Dorothea extended her hand, and Sylvain shook it. While this development was, in all honestly, unexpected, he didn't mind. He wasn't usually competitive, but something about proving his abilities to Dorothea felt like something he just had to do. Besides, sneaking out was hard as hell, so having someone cover up for him might just get the professor and Dimitri of his back. In conclusion, Sylvain felt sure that the victory would be easy.

-

The victory, it seems was not easy. At first, everything was going on smoothly. He had volunteered to help out with different tasks around the monastery, sweet talking girls as he helped them with some of their tasks. Most of them would respond positively, thanking and smiling at him. One of them even kissed his cheek! That had to count for something, right?

However, it seems like while he was helping people out with tasks, Dorothea was having others earn new ones. It was a good tactic, really. She'd find someone training, comment on their strength, something along the lines of ' oh god, your arms are so strong! ' and ' oh wow, I'm sure you could life even me up! ', then offer them to come up to her room, flustering the poor souls. Once there, she'd pretend to have forgotten to do something, like moving a box or cleaning out her desk, and act distraught by it. Then, the same poor soul, now with a crush, would obviously offer to help. By the time they'd be done with whatever Dorothea had asked them to do, the curfew would be up, and they'd part ways, probably never to be seen in her room again. 

Again, she was great at this, really. 

He knew he had to step up his game, because well, he hated to admit, but Dorothea was sort of way better at this whole thing then him. He had about 3 days to even out the score, and he was gonna use every trick under the sun.

And so he found himself stripping off his shirt in the middle of the training grounds. He couldn't go out to flirt, so he had to work in the Garreg Mach grounds, and he had promised Felix to spar with him after ditching him twice this month, so he had to get creative.

Well, Sylvain didn't know if taking clothes off was what one would describe as " creative " but it was a solution nonetheless. He felt smug as he saw Dorothea raise her eyebrows, clearly sensing his intentions. Dorothea wasn't the only one who noticed, as the people around seemed to definitely be interested.

He noted a lance being thrown at someone on accident and an arrow nearly killing Seteth, and maybe he should have been more concerned about being a distraction but hey, sacrificed could be made.

Apparently random students who unfortunately stumbled across the scene were the only ones affected, as Sylvain noticed Felix's footwork getting more sloppy the more be he stared at him. In fact, Felix was apparently so thrown off his game, that Sylvain had won. He wasn't the worst fighter out there, but winning against Felix, using a sword, was literally unheard of.

He went up to Felix to help get him, but once Sylvain offered his hand, Felix shoved it away, mumbling profanities under his breath and running away with a flushed face. He had to admit, it was sort of cute.

" I guess I underestimated you. "

Sylvain nearly jumped at the sound of Dorothea's voice from behind him, dropping his sword in shock. He turned to look at her.

" Oh, admitting defeat now are we? What's next, will you sing me praises? That'd be really great, especially considering how lovely your voice is. " 

" In your dreams. However, I must admit, it feels as though we are evenly matched when it comes to strangers. Perhaps this would be a lot more difficult with those who spend a lot of time around us. "

" You surely jest. You absolutely must be jesting. "

" Oh, I am not, trust me. In fact, let's make this even more interesting. Why don't we choose who the other should try to, as you love to put it, ' seduce '. "

" ...I assume I am to go first, aren't I? "

" Oh, actually, I was fully prepared to go first, but if you volunteer... well, how can I refuse the temptation to see you suffer? Hm, let's think... "

Sylvain was, to put it simply, scared. Mercedes and Anette were two of the best mages he has ever seen ( granted, the number wasn't that high, but still, the professor made sure the girls learnt as many offensive spells as possible ) and Ingrid was Ingrid, which means she could possibly snap him in half.

" Oh, I know! Why not go with his highness? "

" Dimitri!? "

" Yes. The more I think about it, the smarter the idea gets. From what little I know about him, he is completely oblivious to any sort of affection. Trust me, I'd know, I mean, could you blame me for trying to flirt with a prince? But it was all hopeless, I don't think he even understood that he was being flirted with. "

" And how do you expect me to seduce him?! "

" Oh, that'd be impossible, I'm well aware. In all honestly, even if you get rejected I'd applaud you. If he understands that you're flirting with him, you win. "

Would he be sentenced to death for trying to flirt with a prince? Was that a thing? Even if that wasn't an actual punishment, Sylvain was convinced that Dedue would gladly murder him on Dimitri's behalf if the prince expressed a desire to. 

" ...You are aware that I am going to get back at you for this, right? " 

" Oh, fully, and I sincerely can't wait, dear. Now shoo! Off to bed the prince... they truly grow up so fast! "

" Oh in the name of Seiros, please save me. "

-

Sylvain had absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing. He noticed that Dimitri was alone in the blue lions classroom, a rare opportunity that he could use, and so he strutted over, hoping to catch the prince by surprise. 

And now, he was sitting next to Dimitri, claiming to be hiding from a crazed villager he had flirted with ( not even necessarily a lie ), and he had no idea what to do.

Well, Dima was sort of really oblivious, so he might as well try to be as direct as possible. 

" Hey, has anyone told you that you are... very smart? " He tried to make his voice sound smoother, while putting his arm around Dimitri's chair. " I mean... look at you, looking over our schedule like that. I could never imagine trying to prepare in advance, it's impressive, really. "

" Ah, thank you? It'd be nice if you put in more thought into your studies as well, especially your magic, the professor noted that you could use it in the future. "

The conversation was switching to studies, so not sexy, definitely a no-no. Sylvain had to change it quick.

" Well, you know... why would I need magic? "

" Well, you, magic is very versati- "

" When I have you? "

" ...What? "

Sylvain was not going to break the character, even if this was killing him inside. 

" You know, Dimitri... your highness... all I'm saying is that your sheer beauty and brains alone are stronger then any magic. In fact, just looking at you could probably boost my morale on the battlefield more then a skilled dancer. "

Sylvain wanted to die inside.

" Sylvain... what are you on about? "

Sylvain was about to reply, when he heard someone cough from behind the door. If he had to take a guess, it was probably Dorothea hiding, waiting for him to mess up. He was going to make Dimitri get the hint even if he becomes the first person to ever die of horrible flirting lines.

" I'm just saying... with a body like that, you could very well do some magic in bed. "

Snap! 

Well, Dimitri definitely got the hint now, Sylvain thinks, as he looks at the desk how covered in ink. Dimitri had accidentally snapped the pen he had been writing with, and was looking at Sylvain as if he had just killed his newborn. Wonderful.

" Um, S-Sylvain, I, u-uh, god I knew this conversation was coming but I didn't think it'd go like this. "

Sylvain absolutely had no idea what the hell Dimitri was about. 

" Look, Sylvain, I am fine with your, uh preferences? I mean, would be slightly hypocritical if I wasn't, but- "

" Uh, Dimitri? "

" I am fully supportive of you! But I am... infatuated with someone else, so I, um, must apologize for the lack of reciprocation. "

" Dimitri. "

" No, seriously, I am very happy you are admitting this! I was very concerned you had internalized issues concerning your sexuality, but I'm glad that's not the case- "

" Dimitri! "

" Y-yes? "

" Just what do you think is happing here?! "

Dimitri was looking at him like a kicked puppy, a slight fear in his eyes, the look he'd get when he was scared he'd messed up. How did this situation even get here?! 

" Well, Sylvain.... I, um, assumed this was you admitting you like men as well? Did I... misread? Oh no, did I make any assumptions? I apologize profoundly. "

" No, I mean, yeah, that's a thing. I just didn't know that you knew? God this is really awkward. "

They both sort of sat there after that, staring off into space awkwardly, and Sylvain wished Dedue would barge in and actually kill him. He really hated that he couldn't just rewind time right now.

" Look, Dimitri, I'll... admit, I sort of had to flirt with you for a bet, and to be honest I sort of didn't think that things would go this way. Please don't tell people about my sexuality and let's never remember this, alright? "

Dimitri nodded, and Sylvain immediately ran out of the room, as far away from the classroom as he could. He ended up running into a blonde guy he had never met, and screamed because he assumed it was Dimitri, so that definitely won't do any good to his already messed up reputation. 

He did, however, win the deal, so Dorothea was definitely paying for this.

-

Dorothea had been on the edge the whole day, all because of Sylvain. All she had seen of the ginger had been a short encounter in the morning, where he confidently claimed that he had succeeded in their little challenge.

When she heard knocking on her door, she jumped. It didn't have to be Sylvain, right? However, it seemed like the goddess had abandoned her, as his ginger tall body walked into her room. He flopped onto her bed, earning a glare from her.

" I suppose you are here to pay me back for my idea? "

" Wow, you guessed it right! A beauty and brains, what a lovely woman you are! "

" Get on with it. "

" Right... so I was thinking... I had to flirt with my house leader, correct? "

She really hoped this is not heading where she thinks it is heading.

" ...Yes, correct... "

" I was thinking, you should totally flirt with Edelgard! I promise to find your body after the creepy dude that follows her around buries it. "

" I refuse. "

That seemed to startle Sylvain, as he sat up right after she said it. 

" What? "

" ...I said, I refuse, you win. Feel free to sneak out now. "

" Wait, you can't just do that! I mean, yeah, Edlegard is sort of intimidating, but you've literally hit on our prof before, who like, can actually kill us all in one hit, so what's the issue here? "

Was Sylvain the best person to confide in? Dorothea had to admit, despite her discomfort around his general womanizing ways, this experience has made them into somewhat friendly acquaintances. Besides, this probably did come off odd without an explanation.

" You see, around a month ago... " Dorothea walked over to her bed, and Sylvain took his legs off, giving her some space to sit down. " I, began talking with her more often, and well... " 

" ...and well? "

" I sort of... realized that my feelings may not be purely platonic, I suppose. The more she talked about her sadness at her inability to experience proper romance, the more I wanted to give it to her, to swipe her off her feet. She sounds heavenly when she laughs, you know? Some think that she's intimidating... but I've never been more charmed. She'd make for a terrific leader, one that I could follow 'till I bleed and die... so as you can tell... I am pretty far gone. "

" ...What's the issue then? It seems like you love her, or at least, are very close to that. Why not shoot your shot? "

" She's the future emperor. I might not be the most politically involved, but between the hushed conversations her and Hubert share, and the guarded walls she puts around her, I can tell that she has a lot on her shoulders, a lot that I will never be able to understand, nor will I be able to help her with. She has a lot of responsibilities, and no time for romance, I'm afraid. "

Silence soon fell upon the room. It was odd, being in a room with Sylvain and not hearing him talk, but she supposed that it is hard to respond to a confession generally. 

" Dorothea... "

" ...Yeah? "

" You should do it. With Edelgard. From what you've described to me, she sort of seems lonely. If she truly wants romance, maybe she doesn't have it because she thinks she can't? I don't think she's the type of person to go and look out for partners, or to take initiative. And she seems like a great leader, so I don't think she'll hold your feelings against you. If you think she has a hole in her heart, why not try and fill it? "

Dorothea sighed, pondering. Perhaps Sylvain was right. Who would have thought that she'd be taking love advice from a man infamous for his lack of commitment. 

" Perhaps you're right... no, you are. Alright, I'll talk to Edelgard soon. "

" I'm glad, you seem like a good person, it'd be nice if you got your happily ever after, with sparkles and a wedding and all. "

" Isn't that moving a bit too fast? "

" You can't claim to not have thought about it. C'mon, be honest, you want the fairytale happy stuff. ' Oh, empress! You cannot possibly mean this... of course I accept ' , and then you'd cry and jump into her arms, and she'd carry you into the sunset. This must be what you dream of every night. "

Dorothea shoved Sylvain's arms playfully, sniffling her laughs as he continued his overly exaggerated impressions of her.

" Well, perhaps, sometimes... but not every night! That'd be simply too much, even for me. "

" An opera singer thinking of something as too much? Scandalous. "

" Shut up. Let's stop talking about me. Tell me, anyone caught your eye? For someone who flirts so much, surely you must have had a crush or two. "

Dorothea realizes the made a mistake as Sylvain froze up, looking at her as if she had stroke him with Thoron. Was this a... sensitive topic? 

" Hey... Sylvain, if you don't wish to discuss this, you don't have to. "

" No, um, it's fine. An eye for an eye, you know? I haven't ever... had feelings for someone I had attempted to seduce, or bed for the matter. "

" ...Is that so? "

" Well, I mean, what's the point. Near everyone I meet just sees a rich noble who bears a crest, a good husband, a good someone to have a child with to have a claim on the Gautier lands. It's all... pointless. "

" I'm sure not everyone looks at you that way, and if someone does, that is their loss, not yours. "

" I know that... But... I wish I didn't have my crest sometimes, maybe then my brother... "

" Your brother? "

" ...It doesn't matter, I don't think I can talk about that now. But I am aware that the crest thing isn't everyone's way of thinking when they see me. I just can't help myself from making those assumptions at times. "

" Is there truly no one you can confide in? To put it simply, I didn't expect such loneliness from... well, you. "

" Oh, no, I do have friends, and get along with everyone generally. I've told Mercie some stuff, and my childhood friends have probably made some correct assumptions. It's more of a general distrust in strangers. "

" I... see. Well, I truly hope you do find someone one day. Despite the scandalous claims, Sylvain Jose Gautier seems to be a nice guy, what a shock! "

" Am I now? Heh, thanks. You're pretty great yourself. I guess this is a good time to admit that... I do have that someone in mind, they'd just never in a million years reciprocate. "

" Oh my! " Dorothea gasped dramatically, giving Sylvain her best pleading eyes. " Please do go on! "

" Oh well, no point in beating around the bush: It's Felix. "

" ...the man who keeps running to the new professor and demanding a duel? "

" Yes, that'd be him. We'd been childhood friends, but well... coming here made me realize how much all of us had drifted away, our friend group, I mean. Dimitri's busy with duties and Ingrid's hyper focused on becoming the best knight she can be. Felix runs away anytime Dimitri enters a room, or he screams insults as him. He's been sparring non stop, and went from a cry baby who idolized every knight he'd meet to an almost mirror to his brother... it's jarring, I suppose. "

" That seems troubling. I do not sense a drift when I see you interact with each other, so I'm sure not all is lost yet. "

" Well, I sure hope so, because sometimes, it really does feel like it is. Especially with Felix. I mean, I'm pretty used to him insulting me, that's sort of his thing, but it feels as though he only seems to me as a womanizer sometimes. "

" I'm sure your reputation does not help. "

" It probably doesn't, but... I wish he would confide me, I suppose. We go through battle after battle, on a real battle field, with swords instead of wooden sticks, and I don't even know how he feels about that. He tenses up every time I casually mention his dad, and yet never seems to want to talk about it. We used to share everything and now... well, it's ' different ' is one way to put it I suppose. "

Seeing Sylvain Jose Gautier shamelessly flirt with women with no intentions of talking to them ever again was infuriating, however, Dorothea decided, that seeing him devastated and sad was probably the worst sight of them all. She draped her arms around him, attempting to hug at the awkward angle they were sitting, and was rewarded with a light chuckle.

" Thanks, but this really isn't necessary. I'm fine! Great even. I really shouldn't make the atmosphere so gloomy. "

" No, you're not fine, and neither is your friendship. And what you should be doing is fixing that. And if I can agree to confess to the goddamn future emperor, then you surely can try to not mess this relationship up, we clear? "

Sylvain seemed to contemplate, and then nodded, and Dorothea gave him a smile before escorting him out of her room and wishing him goodnight. 

Tomorrow was going to be a long day, wasn't it?

-

Dorothea paced around the greenhouse, not knowing what to do with herself. She was usually the very picture of confidence, however, she could not help the way her heart race at the thought of meeting Edelgard soon. Dorothea had asked her to meet her here in a few minutes, and in the name of Seiros was the wait excruciating.

She heard someone walk in, and turned around, expecting to see Edelgard, but was met with Hubert's cold gaze instead. 

" Hubie? "

" ...That would be me, yes. "

She waited for him to explain why he was here, but he simply stared off at the plants, as if he was trying to... inspect them? 

" I'm sure that what you are doing is of great importance, but I have someone I need to meet, so if could you plea- "

" That someone would be Lady Edelgard, yes? "

She froze. The chances of Edelgard asking Hubert to kill her were slim, right? At least Sylvain did promise to find her body.

" Yes? "

" ...Alright, you seem too confused for this conversation to be fruitful in any way. I was simply checking if there were any threads present, and it seems that there are none. "

" Is that all? You were checking for hidden weapons and assassins in a greenhouse? "

Hubert looked around more, and for a second, she swore she saw his cheeks flush. There was no way that she had witnessed Hubert von Vestra get flustered. 

" I'll admit... I came here... to say thank you. "

" I am sorry, did I hear you correctly? You're... thanking me? "

" Don't appear so shocked. And yes, you did indeed hear correctly. The path that Lady Edelgard has chosen is not an easy one, and I'm simply expressing my gratitude that she won't have to walk it alone. I'll drop the subtly and hint that her feelings are far more reciprocal then you think. She somewhat enjoys chatting about you during our meetings. "

Dorothea was out of words. Hubert thanking her? Edelgard gushing about her to Hubert? Was the world simply ending and she was here to bear witness?

" Well, now that I got what I came here for, I must leave, I have other matters to attend to. I sincerely wish you good luck. "

And wish that, Hubert left, the sound of his boots echoing in the greenhouse being the only proof that what just happened had been real. Dorothea was about to follow him and ask more, before she saw Edelgard's lovely form coming her way. She quickly rushed to greet her, of course.

" Edel! I am so glad you came here, I apologize for the... sudden invitation. "

" Oh no, that is alright. I think this was to be expected eventually. "

" Was it now? "

" Yes, quite. Unless I am mistaken and you did not invite me here with the intention of wooing me? "

Dorothea's cheeks reddened. It was good that Edelgard was aware of what was happening, however, phrasing it so directly sounded very embarrassing for some reason. Two could play this game.

" Why, you're completely right Edel! I came here to ravish you, unable to resist your beauty. Your body is but a temple, and I... a devote follower! "

Edelgard looked down, and Dorothea momentarily wanted to pat herself in the back for making the future emperor flustered. Good thing she had heard enough of Sylvain's horrible lines to last a lifetime.

" You know Dorothea... if your intentions are to truly worship, then I feel as though my quarters would be better fitted, what do you say? "

" I-I h-huh?! " That was the last reaction she had expected, surely Edelgard couldn't mean... " Edel, aren't we moving a bit too fast? Don't get me wrong, you are absolutely beautiful, but - "

Her rambling was cut off by Edelgard's laughter, and she couldn't believe she fell for the very obvious trap.

" Do not fret. I am simply jesting. My intentions are to get to know you better, so, if you are not opposed, professor Byleth has given me this wonderful tea blend earlier, and I would like to try it out, preferably with you, on a date. Would you want that? "

" I would... love nothing more, Edel. "

-

Sylvain hoped that wherever Dorothea was, she was having much better luck then he was. He had been running around the monastery for the last hour or two, frantically searching for Felix, before coming to the conclusion that the man was avoiding him for some reason.

Felix was usually hard to find as is, but this was different. When he had asked Ashe, the boy had nearly tripped, before saying that Felix was at the cathedral, then changing his mind and saying that he was in the dining hall. Anette had claimed she saw him leave the monastery grounds and Mercedes told him that he was napping. Ingrid had just glared at him and he hadn't come across Dimitri and Dedue but he's sure that if he had, they would have given a different answer as well.

The only conclusion he could come up with was that Felix must not want to speak with him, which was... odd. They hadn't interacted much in the past week, so he couldn't have done anything to make Felix angry, and when they had sparred a few days ago Felix didn't seem to be avoiding him, so this must have been a recent development. Sylvain was puzzled as to why, and was adamant about getting to the bottom of this.

He ended up finding Felix near the evening, when most people would have already left to go to bed. He was hiding in the golden deer classroom, with the classroom being empty except for him ( he probably bribed Lysithea with cake to keep it that way ), and he was, surprisingly, sleeping peacefully on the desk. 

Sylvain edged closer, taking a strand of hair out of Felix's face, admiring how relaxed his friend looked while sleeping. It was nice to see Felix without his signature frown, even if for a moment. The action seemed to wake Felix up, and his head shot up, eyes widening when he realized who had woken him up.

" Had a good dream? "

" What are you doing here? "

" ...Straight to the point, huh? Well... someone was avoiding me, so I thought I'd come and get to the bottom of it. "

" I wasn't avoiding you... I simply had better things to do than listen to your meaningless chatter. "

" Is that why I got three conflicting answers to your whereabouts? "

Silence. Sylvain sighed, and moved a chair closer to sit down next to Felix. " Please, just tell me what have I done wrong. I don't want this to keep happening. "

" Why? You have a bunch of other people to talk to, I'm sure you'll be fine without me. "

" ...But I've missed you. "

That seemed to finally get to Felix as he flushed completely, ears turning red as he let out noise that were probably meant to be words ( insults, most likely ). 

" ...fine! I was just... jealous, and was dealing with it by avoiding it. "

" Jealous? Of what? "

" ...When we were growing up, I grew used with you flirting with women at some point. It hurt at first, and then I got over it, cause I'm not a woman, so what can I do about it. But then you went ahead and flirted with the damn boar, and so it became clear that the issue wasn't me being a man, but it was me being me. I was trying to make amends with the fact that you don't like me, in the way I like you, and that it nothing to do with your sexuality. So now you know, happy?! "

" ... "

" Sylvain? Say something! If you're disgusted, then yell at me at least! The only thing you're good is talking so you might as well say something when I actually meed you t- "

Felix froze as he felt hands grazing his cheeks, cupping them. Sylvain's fingers brushed against his hair in order to move it away from his face, and this was definitely the most intimate they've ever been, heck, the most intimate Felix has ever been with anyone.

" ...Can I? "

" ...yeah... p-please. "

There were no fireworks like the novels Ingrid would keep tucked under her pillow had claimed, Felix was way too inexperienced to reciprocate behind parting his lips occasionally and too unsure of what to do with his hands for the kiss to be proper in any sense, but both of them were way too far gone to care about that now. They soon parted, both out of breath and equally red, a small smile gracing both of their features.

" ...I feel like we should have been doing this a lot sooner. "

" ...Perhaps. Wait, what about the boar? "

" A bet. No offense to him, but flirting with him is probably officially the worst moment of my admittedly very short lived life. "

" ...and what's the best? "

" You're hoping for me to say this, aren't you? Who knew, Felix Fraldarius, a secret romantic. "

" ...shut and kiss me again. "

Well, who was Sylvain to refuse, really?

-

The next day, upon going to class, Sylvain spotted a very happy Dorothea walking his way, and upon noticing the red mark around her neck, couldn't help shooting her a thumbs up. This, in turn, gave her the perfect opening to point out the oddness of his usually open front shirt now being replaced with a turtleneck. 

Both of them genuinely congratulated each other earnestly after all the banter, happy to have helped out the other in their love life while being messes themselves, their bet now completely forgotten.


End file.
